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Value-Add Business

Recently, I and my colleagues had our lunch in the traditional cafeteria 10 minutes away from our office. We had a “Pecel Tumpang”- an Indonesian salad- with rice and other side dishes.
As we were waiting to be served, we observe how the cafeteria is run and make a guess on how much profit they can make per month. As we observe what kind of food and beverage they offer, we guess that it could make 40% net profit in a month.
Suddenly, I remember my acquaintance’s story on his food stall business that could generate up to 50% net profit in a month. Wow.., what a great business.

The interesting thing is this two businesses share one thing in common: the biggest profit of individual product comes from a non-standard product. For example, if we sell coke per se – which is a standard product – we won’t be able to make much profit. We can make a bit higher profit, if we serve it with ice cube. We can make more profit by serving the coke with ice and milk in a very nice glass. The added-value makes profit bigger.

Isn’t it interesting, is it? You will get the premium, if your customer perceive, appreciate your added-value. As you are adding more value to them, you will be highly rewarded.

Isn’t it similar when you lead your people? How do you do to get their buy-in? What you should do to get their rewarding buy-in?

As I learn to lead, I discover that the more I add value to my people, the more I will be rewarded by their committed buy-in.
Following are questions I often raise when I talk to my people on how I can add value to them:

1. What do you want to be and to do in your life?
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
3. What are your personal targets for the next 3 years?
4. What are the concrete actions that will bring you forward in achieving your goal?
5. How can we develop a join work-plan for you?
6. How can I help you professionally (as manager/supervisor) and personally (as friend)?

In my case, it is not unusual that people do not know what they want to be or to do.
They often don’t know what their strength and weakness are. Sometimes, challenging them with those questions is your act of adding value to them :p

As you have developed a join work-plan, you are required to carry out your part.
Here, your integrity is put into test.

Above all, develop a sincere interest in your people. Treat them as your own gems.
Help them to bring forth their real beauty from within. As you treat them accordingly,
I am more than convinced that they will reward you handsomely.

 

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A Refreshing Stop in the Desert

I wonder if any of you have ever visited a desert? If yes, how did you feel then being under the scorching sun? I can’t imagine either if we are in the midst of a desert and got to journey through it. Yup, it would be great if we can find a gas station with aircon-ed room and AMPM store to refuel our car, our stomach and get refreshed

As we are navigating our organization to fulfill its vision, oftenly we have to journey thru a desert…. It may be what we have been doing are not so successful, the plans went wrong, the goal seems too far to achieve… Then, how can we find the aircon-ed gas station there over our desert?

Well, if nobody would like to invest a gas station in our desert, let’s build one by

1. Focus on success
   Focusing on our problem as well as complaining will drain our energy. Instead focus on achievements we made and don’t complain. List down the progress you have made so far, blessings you got, then be grateful for that.

   My experience is, when I sat down with my friends and tried to list down the achievement then I found that their view is enriching mine. They might see the good things we have which i didn’t see. And our failure might not be as bad as i thought as we share the light to each other.

   I am convinced that we can always find a good things to be grateful for. At least, we survive up to now, at least we still got friends, colleagues who stick with us in our hard time. As the reward, we will find a new hope and strength.

2. Re-cast your vision
   Motivate your people by reminding them about your organization’s vision: A better future, a better personal growth for all. Remind them of the higher call you have, remind them of the very reason they are joining you in the organization.
3. Create immediate success
   Nothing thrills us as stepping from one success to another. I believe big success is built upon smaller successes. As you suceed, you are gaining confidence, momentum to create another bigger success. It is like a snowball effect. It begins small.
   As it rolls, it gains more and more weight and ends up with a great momentum.

   Therefore, create an immediate one. Break down your previous difficult to achieve goal into some achievable smaller ones. Just make it happen, and let the momentum created carries you forward.

4. Draw strength from each other and external resources
   Finally, you can draw strength from inside and outside your organization. They are your GM, directors, commissionnaires, families, best friends, consultants and even your Creator. Ask for their support, their help and advise.

I do hope you find this writing refreshing and do good to you.

Cheers

 

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Leadership 101

These last 3 years, I have been personally witnessing how organization might rise, overcome challenges, not grow maximally or even fall due to one major contributing factor. I have such a luxury witnessing it in a multinational company, national companies, non-profit organization, and even in religion institution environments.

It is leadership

I witness that the rise or the fall of those organizations depends heavily on the leaders and their leaderships skills. And I believe that it is true for every organization.

In a major division of a multinational company environment, I witness that it doesn’t fly higher than it could possibly do. It has a lot of talents and potentials. It has many managers but seems lack of leadership skills to take it to the higher level. People are frustrated and de-motivated as they do not see where the company is going to take them. It has vision – derived from headquarter- but it seems to be only a slogan. Managers find difficulties in motivating people even harder to build a performing team. Management’s good plan might not be carried out successfully as management doesn’t have the people’s trust. It has minimal influence on the people.

In non-profit organization or religion institution setting, it is not unusual to see that the organization doesn’t have a clear vision of what they would like to be, what they would like to achieve. Even it has one, the next challenge would be whether the people buy in to that organization’s vision? Do they share that same vision?

I believe having vision and sharing vision are two different things

Does the leader have enough influence on its people so together with them they make the vision comes to pass?

Leadership guru John C. Maxwell articulates it so well in his 1st law of 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, that any organization can not rise any higher than the leadership capacity of its leader.

The good news is – just like John C. Maxwell tells us- that leadership is learned.

Yes, some of us were born with innate capabilities, but don’t worry it can be learned.
Just like me, I learn leadership and I know for sure that we all can learn it. Let’s learn it together. Now allow me to share several key things about leadership that I learn and observe including from my own experience:

• Leader gives vision
  It is the dream and hope of better future. It is what you and your people would like to be and to do in the time ahead. It is a dream of better future for people who follow you as well as for you
• Leader influences others
  Leader is a leader if and only if he has follower. There must be people who trust you, buy in into your vision and follow you to make the vision comes true.
  Trust as they see that you are man and woman of good character, good attitude and of integrity
• Leader must possess skills: inter-personal & organizational
  Leader must be loved by his follower. How then you can win their hearts for you. You need to have inter-personal skills as well as organizational skills.
  One thing you are dealing with people, the other thing is you need to organize them to achieve the vision.
  You need both inter-personal skills (e.g. how to relate to people, how to solve the conflict, etc.) as well as organizational skills (e.g. delegation, building a team, etc.). You need to make small winnings in order to keep them attached to you.
• Leader must be secure: humble and teachable
  I do not believe in superman. “One can do all” type of man. I believe everyone has his own strength and weakness. I believe that together you can support one another. That’s why you need your followers to achieve your vision. You will fill-in others’ weakness as they will fill-in yours.
  Good leader must be secure enough. We must be secure enough to humble ourselves in seeking helps from others and also humble enough to be teachable.

As the organization depends heavily on its leader, how much more then we should continue learning to become good leaders then. As the title of this article indicates, this article intends to give you a brief preview on the basics of leadership. More articles will be available on the details of above points. See you in the next articles.

Your partner to be better leader,
Jeriel Charis

 

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Hi All,

Finally I created my own blog after my other friend did ….
Well, hopefully i would not fall into “laggard” category :p

I would like to dedicate this blog for those who has same interest with me in leadership.
My dream is to be a good leader, influencing many, and share to you all on how to become a good one. I believe in leadership as an art as much as subject to learn.

Really hope that you can gain something from this blog and improve your leadership.

Cheers,
jeriel